Deodorants and insect and pest repellants have become quite popular for use in deodorizing and/or protecting rooms, including bathrooms, of homes, hospitals, factories, office buildings and the like. In addition to deodorizers and repellants employing wicks which are exposed to the air within a room being deodorized, and sprays, such as aerosol sprays, electrically heated deodorizers and repellant devices have recently been developed as a very popular alternative for the aforementioned deodorizers.
A variety of such devices are presently in the marketplace and typically comprise a housing containing a vaporizable module. A pair of electrical terminals project from a rear surface of the housing for electrical connection into a standard wall socket typically providing 115 volt a.c. power. The a.c. source energizes a resistance heater for heating a scent module, for example, to release a pleasant aroma or essence into the atmosphere so long as the heater element is energized.
When a scent module is dissipated, it is discarded and replaced with a new module. Scent modules are available for purchase as refills, enabling the heating element unit to be used over and over again.
Conventional devices have a number of disadvantages. Firstly, the heating device housing must be provided with a releasable closure device to permit access to the scent module compartment for removal and replacement of a scent module, causing the structure of the device to be relatively complex and bulky and further causing the unit to protrude away from the wall containing the electrical socket into which the heating unit is inserted, thus presenting a potential obstruction to passersby as well cleaning apparatus (brooms, sweepers, vacuum cleaners and the like). In addition, the complex structure which requires moving, or at least movable parts, significantly increases production costs. In addition, substantially unlimited reuse of the heating device significantly contributes to the possible deterioration and even faulty and possible dangerous operation of the heating device. Users are typically unaware of deterioration or weakening of the device, thereby subjecting the user to potential harm.